๐ This experiment showed exactly how traffic jams can form even when there is no crash, construction or obvious bottleneck.
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In 2008, researchers in Japan placed 22 cars evenly around a 230-meter circular track and instructed every driver to maintain roughly 30 km/h.
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At first, the cars flowed smoothly with relatively even spacing between them.
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But tiny differences in braking, acceleration and following distance gradually amplified from one driver to the next until several cars were forced to stop completely.
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The slowdown then traveled backward through the traffic as a stop-and-go wave, even though the road ahead remained completely clear.
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The experiment demonstrated how traffic flow can become unstable once vehicle density is high enough, creating the frustrating โphantom traffic jamsโ drivers experience on real roads.
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Have you ever sat in traffic only to reach the end and realize absolutely nothing caused it?
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What are your thoughts? ๐ค๐ญ
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